


The Giving Wench

by JailynnW



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: A rewrite of how Jaime and Brienne end up, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Break Up, F/M, Gen, Heart Break, Just a little story, One Shot, POV Jaime Lannister, Short Story, based on The Giving Tree, no happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28016751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JailynnW/pseuds/JailynnW
Summary: She wouldn’t meet his eyes. Her hands gripped the sword at her side, fingers closing and opening on the hilt. Tension radiated off of her in waves. He held his breath. His heart was racing and breaking. This felt like the end. He knew it could be. One word, one action, one misstep and it would all fall apart. Her lips trembled for a moment before she pressed them together to stop the movement. He swallowed.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 18
Kudos: 42





	The Giving Wench

**Author's Note:**

> I was going through my folders and found this. I posted it to my Tumblr when I first wrote it. I hope you like it. I would really love to hear thoughts- both positive and negative. All feedback is appreciated! Thank you so much!!

The Giving Wench

* * *

She wouldn’t meet his eyes. Her hands gripped the sword at her side, fingers closing and opening on the hilt. Tension radiated off of her in waves. He held his breath. His heart was racing and breaking. This felt like the end. He knew it could be. One word, one action, one misstep and it would all fall apart. Her lips trembled for a moment before she pressed them together to stop the movement. He swallowed.

“Just tell the truth,” she said quietly. “Just be honest.”

He didn’t want to. He wanted to stay silent and have time spin back to when she looked at him like he was a good man and not like the one that broke her heart. “I…” he shook his head.

“Did you know?” She pressed him. Her hands were shaking and her words were more unsure than he had ever heard them. “When you came here? Did you know?”

His tongue felt thick in his mouth, his mind felt dull. He finally caught her eyes and held them. He couldn’t lie. He could only hope the truth would not end the good he had found with her, “Yes.”

She let out a sound, one that was halfway between a sob and a laugh. “You knew? You knew that Cersei would do this?”

“Not this,” he pointed to the bodies that were swelling with death and covered in flies. The dragons, two of those beasts, lay in bloody messes. Only one still remained in the sky. Ridden by the last Targaryen, the dragon named for his father. A piece of Rhaegar lived on in the body of the Stark bastard. Against all odds, a small part of the Prince that should have been king lived in this God-forsaken land. “I knew she was planning with Qyburn and Euron to cause harm.” He took a step toward her and she took one back. He stopped, feeling like he was losing everything that mattered. “I did not know she would kill so many innocents and never in this way.”

The smothering remains of King’s Landing gave a cruel kick to his gut. He risked his name, his honor and his life to stop such a massacre a lifetime before- only to have his own sister made it a reality. Innocent lives, ones that were considered the enemy and those that were simply following orders- as all soldiers did- were burned and cut down. Blood and ash covered the streets. Green smoke still billowed from buildings that were destroyed by a woman consumed by the same lust as the monarch Jaime had killed.

Brienne inhaled and exhaled slowly. Her eyes were bright with tears as she looked at the dead around her. She knew many of them he realized. She had trained them, fought at their side, shared meals and laughs with them and now those men were gone. “You should have told us,” she whispered. “You should have warned them of her madness…”

Yes, he should have, but he did not think. He could not think. He headed North with two goals in mind- to keep his vow and to set things right. He was not thinking of wildfire caches or a twin that was mad enough to threaten him while he walked away. He saw blue eyes in his future, not the green eyes of his past. He should have told them that a trap would be waiting for the riders from the North, but he didn’t because he was with her. Finally he was _with_ her. He had held her close and kissed her lips. He had known her body in a way no other had and he was _happy_.

“I know,” he acknowledged softly. “I am sorry.”

It was those three words that did the most damage. He had been _sorry_ too much. He had taken her faith and trust, her heart and her maidenhead, and given her nothing but empty apologies. She stood in front of her Lady- her friend- and vouched for him, for his honor and in return, he had let those she considered friends fall into a trap of his sister’s making. He had taken too much… and now there was nothing left. Her dull and hollow eyes met his. He sucked in a breath. Jaime knew what was coming. He could feel the breaking and see the chasm separating them.

“So am I, Ser Jaime,” a single tear slipped down her cheek. The only one she would allow shed in his presence. She would not let him see her fall apart. She would not show him that he had taken all she had from her. Before she turned away from him, she whispered once more. “So am I.”

Jaime felt his insides crumble as he watched her turn away from him. The only thing she left behind was the sword he had given her. She would not carry it anymore. With trembling hands, he lifted the metal- still slightly warm from being so close to the flames and her body- to his chest.

Cersei had killed more than the soldiers and innocents around him, she had murdered his one chance at happiness. Jaime would not let her kill anyone else. He carried OathKeeper in his hand and walked up to the castle. He would do what he should have done before…


End file.
